Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, 4319 Rowe Drive in Summerton, will celebrate the church’s known 75th anniversary at 3 p.m. Sunday, with the Rev. Ranzy McFadden Jr., pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Silver, as the guest speaker. McFadden is also the chairman of the Executive Board of the Black River Missionary Baptist Association. Dinner will be served. The public is cordially invited to attend. The Rev. David Lawson is the host pastor.

According to state DSS spokeswoman Marilyn M. Matheus, the department has activated the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a result of the activation of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
This means Clarendon residents may now file for “temporary food stamps,” and those already receiving such benefits can apply for a supplement. Affidavits of Loss must be filled out at the local DSS office during regular hours from Tuesday through Thursday.
Please read the rest of this post for all relevant information and to find what you will need to bring in.
On Oct. 20, the … Read the rest

SUMMERTON – Lee Earnest Dukes died Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015, at Lake Marion Nursing Facility in Summerton.
Born Oc.t 22, 1940, in Manning, he was a son of the late Nero and Pink Wilder Dukes.
A service of remembrance will be held 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, 2015, at Society Hill AME Church, 1030 Morello Road, S.C. 260 South in Manning, with the Rev. Mary F. Rhodes officiating.
Interment will follow in the Society Hill AME Church cemetery in Manning.
A viewing was held Sunday, Oct. 25, 2015, in the chapel of Fleming and DeLaine Funeral Home of Manning.
The … Read the rest

1775 – King George III of Great Britain goes before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution.
1776 – Benjamin Franklin departs from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution.
1861 – The Pony Express officially ceases operations.
1863 – The Football Association, the oldest football association in the world, is formed in London.
1881 – The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral takes place at Tombstone, Arizona.
1921 – The Chicago Theatre opens.
1955 – After the last Allied troops have left … Read the rest

The Clarendon County Democratic Party will meet 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at Bassard’s Pond House, 4162 Rev. J.W. Carter Road in Summerton.
Young Democrats of S.C. President Bryanta Maxwell will be the guest speaker.

Manning Mayor Julia Nelson said Sunday night that a representative from Gov. Nikki Haley’s office called her Sunday afternoon to confirm the city’s most pressing needs.
“As I expressed to them last week, we’re in urgent need of abating our mosquito problem,” she said. “The other issue that I brought to their attention was the need for tarps, so that damaged roofs can be covered before the anticipated rain this week. They are planning to bring items to assist with both of these issues.”
Nelson said the Team South Carolina event planned by Haley’s office from noon to 4 p.m. … Read the rest

The Manning High School FFA and members of Manning United Methodist Church helped load supplies from Greensboro, North Carolina, on Saturday morning in the church, for the use of United Ministries of Clarendon County.
United Ministries Director Kathy Bryce said the truck was provided by Shelby Johnson Trucking Service, who donated a truck for the delivery from the triad area of North Carolina.
“The FFA kids were absolutely wonderful to work with,” Bryce said. “The tractor trailer was loaded with all kinds of food and cleaning supplies, baby items, paper product and water. We were just so blessed by the … Read the rest

Clarendon 1 Superintendent Rose Wilder said what was planned Monday to be a parent visitation day in Clarendon 1 schools will instead be a regular school day. Parents and guardians will still be able to pick up reports from 3:30-6:30 p.m., however.

Thomas Burgess, 76, husband of Mary Ann Gamble Burgess, died Friday, Oct. 23, 2015, at Carolina Hospital System in Florence.
Born Oct. 23, 1939, in Lake City, he was a son of the late John Thomas Burgess Sr. and Jessie Gamble Burgess.
The family will receive friends at the home, 2517 Sandhill Road in Turbeville.
These services have been entrusted to Samuels Funeral Home LLC of Manning.

East Clarendon Middle-High School seventh-grade teacher Melanie Ganes has been named Clarendon School District 3 2015-16 Teacher of the Year.
Ganes has been teaching for 23 years, with experience in both elementary and middle school settings. She was named ECMHS Teacher of the Year March 23, 2014, and was awarded District Teacher of the Year during the district’s opening ceremony held Aug. 12.
Ganes received a bachelor of science degree from Francis Marion University, and a masters plus-30 degree in elementary education, specializing in divergent learning. She has taught at East Clarendon Middle-High School for 14 years.
Each school’s staff … Read the rest

John Mark Benenhaley, 80, husband of the late Lillie Benenhaley and survived by wife, Roberta “Bobby” Benenhaley, died Friday, Oct. 23, 2015, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center of Sumter.

Born in Sumter, he was the son of the late Henry Benenhaley Jr. and Ethel Hood Benenhaley.

Mr. Benenhaley worked 30 years for Shaw Air Force Base civil engineering. He also worked for Tuomey Hospital as a greeter, security guard and chaplain. He was a life-long member at Long Branch Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon and sang in the choir.

1415 – The army of Henry V of England defeats the French at the Battle of Agincourt.
1861 – The Toronto Stock Exchange is created.
1917 – Traditionally understood date of the October Revolution, involving the capture of the Winter Palace, Petrograd, Russia. The date refers to the Julian Calendar date, and corresponds with November 7 in the Gregorian calendar.
1940 – Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.
1944 – Heinrich Himmler orders a crackdown on the Edelweiss Pirates, a loosely organized youth culture in Nazi Germany that had assisted … Read the rest

The Orangeburg County Library donated activities and items to the Harvin Clarendon County Library during the recent flooding so the library staff who could get to work could share them with children to keep them occupied and comfortable while their parents used library computers to gather information for disaster recovery.

Lee Carroll Bledsoe, 74, husband of Cornelia Fuller “Connie” Bledsoe, passed away on Saturday October 24, 2015, at Hospice of Charleston in Mt. Pleasant.
Born October 4, 1941, in Takoma Park, MD, he was the son of the late Carroll Eugene Bledsoe and the late Betty Partington Bledsoe. Lee was a proud veteran of the United States Naval Reserve where he served as a radioman, a skill he took with him to his career for American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). He was a member of Summerton Presbyterian Church.
Lee is survived by his beloved wife of Manning, to whom he … Read the rest